It has previously been proposed to provide movable roll splitters to replace permanently mounted guillotine-type splitters to which the rolls had to be transported. One example is disclosed in Coats U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,726 and another in Bird U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,761 to which reference may be had for background information concerning this technology.
Coats discloses a splitter of the guillotine type mounted on a wheeled cart. It is provided with a pair of generally horizontal holding arms which may be tilted upwardly or downwardly by a hydraulic cylinder. A cutter blade is reciprocable on the arms in a generally horizontal plane. The cart is moved to the roll and downwardly facing hooks on the ends of the arms are hooked onto the ends of a shaft through the core of the roll. The paper roll is then split by the blade. The roll is never lifted and cannot be suspended over a well leading to the pulper into which the cut paper could drop.
Bird, on the other hand, provides a mobile splitter of the non-guillotine type having a horizontal outwardly facing vertically movable spline on the end of a fork-lift type truck. The truck is driven to the roll and the spline inserted through the roll core. The roll is lifted by the spline and carried to a desired location, which may be over a beater, bailer, belts, etc., for disposal of the cut paper. The roll is split by a horizontally reciprocable knife which travels lengthwise of the roll cutting deeper into it at each pass.